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As many noted when Apple released its beta version of iOS earlier this week, one of the mobile operating system’s newest features, a nighttime reading mode with reduced blue light emissions, looked awfully familiar. The ability to adjust the screen brightness on iOS devices is something software maker F.lux has been developing for years. Its technology, which even briefly worked on iOS without jailbreaking, lets users adjust the screen’s lighting for daytime and nighttime use.

Now that a similar technology which Apple dubs “Night Shift” is an official feature in iOS 9.3, F.lux is calling on Apple to allow its app back into the iTunes App Store.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the problem: studies have shown that blue light keeps people’s pineal gland from releasing melatonin – something which normally occurs a couple of hours before bedtime. This hormone reduces alertness and helps signal to the body that it’s time to sleep. But as we cuddle up with our smartphones and tablets before bed these days – as opposed to books or magazines – we’re inadvertently making it more difficult on ourselves to fall asleep.

F.lux also notes that research points to links between this exposure to light at night and cancer, referencingreports that state disruption of our circadian rhythms by way of night shift work or disturbed sleep-wake cycles may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer and other diseases, for example.

The company was among one of the original pioneers in the software space with a solution to this problem. Its app, originally designed back in 2009, now works on a range of devices, including Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and iOS devices, if they’re jailbroken (meaning, a way to hack the device to run unapproved applications.)

The problem with side-loaded version wasn’t really the method of installation – Apple now lets anyone with an Apple ID load apps directly from Xcode – but rather with F.lux’s use of private APIs.

However, with “Night Shift” now officially supported as an iOS feature, F.lux believes its app should be allowed back into the App Store. That is, Apple should open up access to those private APIs so that the app is no longer in violation of Apple’s terms.

A good handful of iOS users agree – following the ban, over 5,000 F.lux fans signed a petition asking Apple to reconsider its position.

It’s a reasonable request, now thanks to “Night Shift.” If Apple is officially offering a feature that will automatically shift the colors in its display to the warmer end of the spectrum at a given time, it seems there would be little harm in allowing a third-party to build on top of that functionality to offer a more advanced feature set to power users.

However, it’s not uncommon for Apple to borrow ideas from the jailbreak community, having taken “inspiration” from a number of unapproved tweaks in years past, to do thing like enhance notifications, implement Wi-Fi sync, add support for widgets and dynamic wallpapers, improve multitasking and app organization, and more.

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Crunchbase

OverviewSoftware to warm up your computer display at night, to match your indoor lighting. f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you're in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again.
Tell f.lux what kind of lighting you have, and where you live. Then forget about it. f.lux will do the rest, …